A Sales Professional or an Insurance Professional? What differentiates a true insurance sales professional from a “salesperson” is critical to proper pricing, coverage, and overall service. It’s important to sort out, what they actually know about insurance and not just how to sell it. In this blog post, I am going to discuss some of the key factors to look for when trying to spot a true insurance professional, that will actually try to help manage your risk, and one that is merely a poser trying to sell a policy and move on. Because when it comes to your policy, all there is, is paper and a promise. Here are a few of the telltale signs to be aware of in case you actually want to work with someone that actually understands insurance:
- No Knowledge. When the sales professional says, I don’t know insurance. I leave that up to the professionals in the office. You bet he/she does. Not only do they have no idea about risk or how to identify it, they are only there at the beginning, only to be seen at renewals.
- Price, price, oh, did I mention price? If the key to their initial meeting is all about reducing your premium by X%. This is beautiful. So many agents or brokers come in with the low price pitch. Sounds great, but ties up so much in the process. Look for someone that actually wants to learn about your business or better yet, already knows what types of risks actually drive your costs and lead to losses.
- Awkward solicitations. Form letters as a means of introduction is a real sign that your company is on a list of many others. Insurance professionals that have a niche or specialty area in which they service business, will normally do a lot of research on your company before making a call or sending a letter. Read between the lines when reviewing a solicitation. Ask the right questions when they are seeking an appointment or information about your company.
- Happy Anniversary! I love these salespeople. They call right around the 90-day mark before your upcoming insurance renewal, eager to engage and seek out a better price and improved coverage. Why did they wait until 90 days to do this though? Shouldn’t that have been started early, so they can dedicate more time to marketing and less time to catching up on what your company does. Look for the insurance professional that concentrates on your program, not your policy expiration date.
All in all however, it comes down to what does your gut say. You should be able to tell pretty quick if the person calling on your business is worthy of your time or just a flash in the pan. Ask for and call on references, client testimonials, and internet searches. Find out about your prospective agent or broker before signing on the low premium dotted line that comes with little or no professional service.
